Photo by Calvin W.

I have never been to the Georgia state capitol or sat in a room with lawmakers discussing legislation until this trip. The visit was a really eye-opening experience on how those lawmakers get things done. I found it particularly interesting how open the building is to the public, and that definitely makes me want to go again. Also, the number of people there who weren’t even lawmakers but just wanted to talk about the bills being discussed was interesting. Of course, I have to mention how beautiful the interior and exterior of the building were, and the cafeteria was also great and fairly cheap.

Photo by Calvin W.

As I previously mentioned, I have never even been in the presence of a lawmaker, so the committee meeting I sat in on was an exciting experience. The bill that was being discussed was SB 33, a bill that aims to tighten the restrictions on THC products. The biggest sellers they wanted to tighten up on were gas stations due to the high amount of synthetic products that gas stations have been selling since THC was legalized. The main thing this bill would change is that it would reduce the percentage of delta-9 THC a product can contain. Meaning this bill isn’t going to affect any CBD products currently on the market. The concern that was brought up the most about this bill was the overwhelming amount of emails and messages the committee members were receiving from small businesses. Although most members agreed that the proposed change would be a necessary one.

Photo by Calvin W.

The stakeholder I had the longest conversation with was a Georgia Medical Marijuana Society lobbyist, Yolanda Bennett. She talked about how detrimental synthetic THC may become if lawmakers keep ignoring the issue. Not only because of its health concerns, but also because of what it may develop into. Unfortunately, I didn’t get their name, but I spoke to a journalist outside the committee meeting about why it’s important to stop synthetic THC. He said if it’s not eradicated right now, it may follow the same cycle that went on during the opioid crisis. Where sellers will continue to make new, more dangerous variants of the same drug.

All in all, the trip was a very informative experience, a lot like this class, and makes me want to stay more informed on what goes on in our state’s legislation. Before, I would really just vote for the people my social media feed would essentially tell me to. I now understand how problematic that can be and how important it is to stay informed, not just through social media.